TW202144230A - Bicycle rear wheel sprocket arrangement and modular system for producing bicycle rear wheel sprocket arrangements - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a bicycle rear wheel sprocket arrangement (1) having a carrier sprocket (21) and a self-supporting sprocket cluster (18) connected to the carrier sprocket (21) on the outboard side in a connection region (V) of the carrier sprocket (21), and to a modular system for producing different bicycle rear wheel sprocket arrangements (1) or sprocket cassettes. The sprocket arrangement (1) comprises a plurality of further sprockets which are designed as sprocket rings (25, 26), wherein the sprocket rings (25, 26) are each arranged on the carrier sprocket (21) in the connection region (V) and are each connected to the carrier sprocket (21).

Description

Bicycle rear wheel pinion configuration and modular system for generating bicycle rear wheel pinion configuration

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a pinion arrangement for the rear wheel of a bicycle and a modular system for producing the pinion arrangement of the rear wheel of a bicycle.

Background of the Invention

A rear wheel pinion arrangement of the same type is also referred to simply and synonymously in the bicycle industry as a pinion flywheel or flywheel in the bicycle industry, and it forms part of a drive train on a bicycle that is used to connect the Drive power is transmitted from the chainring on the bike's bottom bracket to the rear wheel.

Positional or directional descriptions such as "left," "right," "front," "rear," "up," "down," etc., as used in the description below, are equivalent to a rider's perspective on a bicycle. The same is true for the industry conventional directions of "inboard" (left or left) and "outboard" (right or right) applied in the description, which refer specifically to the shifting process or pinion position on the flywheel.

Bicycle pinion freewheels include a plurality of pinions spaced in the axial direction of the rear axle, the pinions having graded different numbers of teeth. Depending on the specific transmission ratio selected by the rider, the bicycle chain is placed on one of the pinions by means of the shifting mechanism, so as to determine the transmission ratio and the desired pedaling speed of the rider under the joint action of the number of teeth of the chainring on the central axle. frequency.

In recent years, the bicycle industry, mainly in the field of mountain bikes, has gradually reduced the number of bottom bracket chainrings from the traditional three chainrings of different sizes to two chainrings. During this period, at least in the high-end segment, most Reduced to a single chainring. This simplifies the drive train and increases its reliability. As a result, the shifting maneuvers and shifting logic are also simplified for the rider down to just one shift lever.

Furthermore, it is also possible not to provide the front chain switch derailleur and its controls, as well as the means required to attach this chain switch derailleur to the bicycle frame and the bicycle handlebar, not in the area of the bottom bracket. The weight of the bike is also drastically reduced without the need for a switch, additional chainrings, and shift levers and attachments.

In bicycles with an electrically assisted drive, for example, for reasons of installation space and to simplify the drive train, in most cases a plurality of shiftable chainrings are not used, but only one chainring is provided.

Without setting a certain sub-factor of the ratio range on the bike, it is necessary to greatly increase the ratio range provided by the pinion cassette, which used to be provided by multiple chainrings on the bottom bracket and was usually in the range of 180% to 200 % range.

This necessity led to the development of pinion flywheels that not only have extremely small pinions down to 11 teeth and below on the outside, but very large pinions up to 50 teeth and above on the inside. As a result, these cassettes achieve a 500% ratio range, which provides the right ratio for almost any riding situation.

But especially where the flywheel consists mostly of several disc-shaped pinions in a conventional manner, a pinion flywheel with such sized pinions on the inside causes weight problems, each of which is arranged directly on the rear hub on the free wheel drive.

The greater weight of this type of pinion flywheel is produced on the one hand by the disk-shaped pinion (which is also referred to simply as a plug-in pinion), which gradually becomes extremely large mainly in the inner direction, and on the other hand by the connection with the single small pinion. Redundancy of the torque transmission from the radially outer pinion teeth to the radially inner transmission of the rear hub results from the gear arrangement. These redundancies mainly consist in that each individual pinion forms its own torque transmission path from the radially outer pinion teeth to the radially inner transmission, which adds a large number of parallel and therefore redundant rotations. torque transmission paths, which have correspondingly higher material costs.

In particular to address the weight of this type of pinion flywheel, two basic master schemes have been implemented so far. One solution is to use a so-called Ritzel-Spider, in which a plurality of adjacent pinion rings are arranged on a common carrier.

Therein, the pinion ring is defined by the fact that, unlike the disk-shaped flywheel pinion or plug-in pinion, this pinion ring is not directly arranged on the transmission of the rear wheel hub and is connected to this transmission in torque-transmitting manner. connected in a radially relatively narrower ring.

The connection to the transmission and the transmission of torque from the pinion teeth to the transmission are carried out in the pinion flywheel, which has a spider configuration and is thus always bound with a majority of two or more adjacent pinion rings , these pinion rings are fastened together on the spider.

However, the number of pinions of the current flywheel is usually in the range of ten or more pinions and the number is large, so it is necessary to provide a number of relatively flatter spiders and usually 2 to 4 pinions are fastened in Each of the flat spiders, or the individual pinion spiders, needs to be provided three-dimensionally with a greater thickness or extension in the axial direction in order to place a plurality of pinion rings side by side on the spider.

Therefore, the two known solutions of the spider pinion flywheel are not optimal for the desired weight reduction and also result in a flywheel with a complex structure comprising a large number of elements that are difficult to manufacture and install.

Another known weight reduction solution for pinion flywheels with a very large transmission ratio range is to construct the pinion flywheel at least partially as a self-supporting so-called pinion set, which can also be referred to as a dome flywheel. Kassette).

where either all pinions except the largest pinion on the inside are milled out of a solid piece of material, or as many intermediate pinions as possible are built between the largest and smallest pinions as pinion rings, by connecting elements such as rivets or pins, connecting these pinion rings into a conical three-dimensional load-bearing structure. The last solution is also known in the industry as a pinned pinion set.

In general, a self-supporting gear set can be defined in a manufacturing technology-independent manner as consisting of three or more pinions with an inner start pinion and an outer end pinion, where the start pinion The pinion and the end pinion may be connected together by a connecting member such as a spider, carrier pinion or transmission, while a third pinion, usually a plurality, is arranged in the middle between the start pinion and the end pinion The pinion is self-supporting and has no own connection or direct connection with the spider, carrier pinion or transmission, instead it is only connected directly or indirectly with the start and end pinions.

But this concept of the pinion set also reaches its limit with the increasing number of gears and the size of the pinion. Solid milled pinion sets require increasingly difficult and therefore costly manufacturing steps, while pinned pinion sets have a number of pins or rivets arranged in a row, mainly due to related The tolerance chain leads to higher and higher manufacturing costs.

Summary of Invention

Based on the aforementioned prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pinion arrangement for overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art in terms of the spider flywheel as well as the dome flywheel.

The solution of the present invention to achieve the above object is a pinion configuration and a modular system.

The pinion configuration of the same type first includes a carrier pinion as well as a self-supporting pinion set. The pinion set is connected to the carrier pinion in the outer connecting region of the carrier pinion.

The pinion arrangement is characterized by a plurality of other pinions, wherein the other pinions are constructed as a pinion ring. Each of the pinion rings is arranged on the carrier pinion in the connection area of the carrier pinion and is connected with the carrier pinion in the connection area.

The combination of a further pinion or pinion ring arranged in this way on the carrier pinion with a pinion set that is also fastened to the carrier pinion in the connecting region of the carrier pinion produces the following advantages: The number of pinions corresponding to the number of gear rings relieves the load of the pinion gear set, and these pinions usually refer to the largest pinions of the pinion flywheel.

This allows the pinion set to be significantly smaller, thereby greatly reducing the cost, tolerance and weight issues of the pinion set discussed at the beginning of this article. The volume of the cone with proportionally reduced diameter and height is reduced by the third power of this reduction, so in this way it can be achieved by reducing the outer diameter and width of the generally generally conical pinion set 30% to reduce the volume of the pinion set to about one-third the size.

During this process, the pinion ring can be connected together with the bracket pinion in different ways. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one of the pinion rings is connected to the carrier pinion by means of a plurality of connecting elements. Connection elements are, for example, screws, rivets, pins or rivetless connections, the last of which is a form-fit connection by means of rivetless riveting without the use of filler material.

The rivets for the pinned connection to the carrier pinion can either be provided as a supplement to the corresponding pinion ring, or can be constructed in one piece with the pinion ring, for example formed in one piece.

According to a further preferred embodiment, at least one of the pinion rings is materially connected, ie, for example by welding or gluing, with the carrier pinion.

The aforementioned embodiments can likewise be combined with one another, so that one of the pinion rings can, for example, be glued to the carrier pinion, while the other pinion ring can be pinned or riveted, for example, to the carrier pinion. It is likewise possible to use a combination of several methods at the same connection point of the pinion ring and the carrier pinion, in particular a combination of material engagement and form fit, for example an adhesive connection reinforced by form fit elements such as embossing or projections.

The same is true for the connection between the carrier pinion and the pinion set. This connection can also be effected by, for example, the above-mentioned connecting elements, by a materially bonded connection or by a combination of these connection methods.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the carrier pinion train is concave, so that in the region of the connection of the carrier pinion with the pinion ring, the cross-sectional profile of the carrier pinion there is in the sense of a parallel curve The tooth tip profile of the pinion configuration follows in near-parallel.

This can be achieved, for example, in that the carrier pinion is constructed at least in regions similar to the ring segment. In the area of the connection of the carrier pinion, the pinion ring and the pinion set, this shape minimizes the material expenditure due to the shortest connection path, so as to achieve the desired pinion flywheel with the lowest possible weight.

Furthermore, with this shortest connection path, the stiffness and fatigue strength of the pinion configuration in the connection area are optimized.

According to a further preferred embodiment, on one or more pinions of the pinion arrangement, the load flank of at least one outer link plate spacer tooth or output tooth has a beveled shark that is set back in the circumferential direction tooth shape. This results in improved shift accuracy, reduced shift noise, reduced pinion and chain wear over the entire life of the pinion, and overall longer drive train life.

The present invention also relates to a modular system for providing a plurality of different bicycle rear wheel pinion configurations. The modular system comprises at least one element series for at least one of the elements "carrier pinion", "pinion set" and "pinion ring", preferably one element series for each of these elements.

Taking carrier pinions as an example, "element series" should refer to a series or row of carrier pinions of different materials or different manufacturing qualities. For example, a carrier pinion made of steel and a carrier pinion made of aluminum form the element series "carrier pinion".

Among them, in each component series, a connection interface with other components is defined in a correspondingly uniform or mechanically consistent manner (take the bracket pinion as an example, that is, the connection interface with one of the pinion rings or with the small interface for the gear set). This means that, based on a uniformly defined connection interface, a corresponding element (eg carrier pinion) can use the same element family (eg element family "carrier pinion") while retaining the remaining elements (eg pinion ring or pinion set) ) (for example with another carrier pinion).

According to a possible embodiment, at least one of the connection interfaces of the carrier pinion is constructed as a combined interface for selectively accommodating a pinion ring or a pinion set. In other words, this means that either the larger pinion set can be fastened on the corresponding combination interface of the carrier pinion (wherein the other connecting interface, which is more radially inner, can remain unused in this case), or The pinion gear ring is fastened on the combination interface, and the smaller pinion gear set is fastened on the other connecting interface which is more inward in the radial direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Figure 1 shows a mountain bike with a single speed drivetrain. Apart from the pinion flywheel 1 , the chain 2 and the shifting mechanism 3 , the drive train has only a single chainring 4 . As stated at the beginning of this article, as a result, the drive train is simplified in terms of manufacturing difficulty, installation difficulty and setup difficulty, as well as weight and rider shifting.

In this case, the loss of the transmission ratio range due to the omission of other chainrings with other numbers of teeth must be compensated by correspondingly expanding the transmission ratio range of the pinion flywheel 1 .

This is achieved in particular by the fact that the pinion flywheel 1 has several extremely large pinions on the inside. The inner side corresponds to the back side of the pinion flywheel 1 in FIG. 1 . It can be seen that the largest pinion of the pinion flywheel 1 has a significantly larger diameter and thus has a much larger number of teeth than the chainring 4 . In this way, the deceleration required for climbing steep grades is provided, that is, a transmission ratio of less than 1 is provided between the crank mechanism 5 and the rear wheel 6 .

FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate a prior art bicycle pinion flywheel in axial section along the rear axle of the bicycle of FIG. 1 , respectively. The symbols used in FIGS. 2 to 4 and partly in FIGS. 5 to 8 are shown again in the form of a legend in the upper area of FIG. 2 .

Therein, the reference numeral 7 represents the torsional connection of the transmission 11 of the pinion flywheel 1 via the free wheel (not shown) on the rear wheel shown in FIG. The translational fixation of the bridge, the dashed line marked 9 represents the flow of force or torque here from the chain 2 through the rear wheel at the pinion 1 to 6, and the two squares 10 represent the forces between the different elements of the pinion 1 The transfer interface, or represents the action _{of the chain force F C towards the drawing plane.}

The pinion flywheel 1 in FIGS. 2 to 4 comprises a plurality (here eight) of individual pinions constructed as plug pinions 13 and a pinion spider 14 , the other four constructed as pinion rings 15 . A single pinion is arranged on the pinion spider. The plug pinion 13 and the pinion star 14 are axially tensioned on the transmission 11 in a conventional manner by means of a locking ring 16 which can be screwed into the internal thread 17 of the transmission 11 .

With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 , the redundancy in torque transmission from the bicycle chain 2 via the pinions 13 , 15 to the transmission device 11 existing in the prior art will be explained. It can be seen that there are no less than nine radial transmission paths 9 for torque inside the pinion flywheel, since each of the eight plug pinions 13 and the pinion spider 14 each have a The respective pinion teeth to the transmission's own radial torque transmission path 9 .

As a result, a plurality (here nine) of torque transmission paths 9 arranged in parallel but used only as an alternative and thus redundant are produced, which have correspondingly higher material costs and a higher weight of the pinion flywheel 1 .

Unlike the prior art pinion flywheels with plug-in pinions and pinion spiders according to FIGS. 2 to 4 , FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples of prior art pinion flywheels constructed as pinion sets . Among them, the pinion flywheel in FIG. 5 includes a pinion gear set 18 milled from a solid material, and the pinion flywheel in FIG. 6 refers to the pinion gear set 19, that is, the pinion gear set is formed by Here it consists of a plurality of individual pinions which are connected together by means of pins 20 . In both cases, the pinion set 18 or 19 is connected to a carrier pinion 21, respectively.

In conjunction with FIG. 1 , from FIGS. 5 and 6 one can see on the one hand the enormous size of the pinion gear set in this type of pinion flywheel disclosed in the prior art. Therefore, the pinion gear set milled from solid material in FIG. 5 is extremely difficult to manufacture and therefore very expensive, while the pinned pinion gear set in FIG. 6 is based in particular on a plurality of connection structures arranged in a row, In this case there are no less than 10 pin planes, each with a plurality of pins 20 , arranged between 11 pinion sets, while maintaining the axial and radial coaxiality tolerances presents a great challenge to the manufacture.

The force and moment flows 9, also depicted in Figures 5 and 6, serve to illustrate another disadvantage of this prior art. Especially in pinion flywheels similar to the single-speed transmission of Figure 1, which are increasingly common on mountain bikes and e-bikes, medium-sized pinions in the middle area of the flywheel are used much more frequently than the larger and extremely large ones on the left. The pinion, or the smaller and extremely small pinion on the right.

An example of a particularly frequently used pinion in Figures 5 and 6 is where the chain at 2 is placed on the seventh gear pinion 22 (usually counted from the inside (left) to the outside (right)). It can be seen that the force flow 9 is first directed radially outwards from the currently used pinion 22 via all pinions located further to the left of the pinion 22 , and then this force flow has to be directed again radially outwards via the carrier pinion 21 . Inland travel another path until the interface 23 of the carrier pinion 21 and the transmission 11 , see arrow P in FIGS. 5 and 6 .

This long path of the force flow 9 is not only geometrically visible, but in operation results in an actual continuous load or exchange of the area 24 traversed by all the force flow 9 of the pinion gear sets 18, 19, except the carrier pinion 21. variable load.

Therefore, the area 24 which is passed by the force flow 9 in almost all engaged gears and is to the left of the pinion currently in use must be subject to this permanent alternating load in terms of material fatigue or fatigue strength, in particular in the case of circumferential bending Rather than only designing for loads in situations where the gears or pinions within region 24 are actually rarely used. Therefore, this design required in the prior art also results in an undesirably increased weight of the pinion flywheel.

_{The support radius R 1} depicted in FIG. 5 will be explained below in the description of FIG. 15 .

FIG. 7 shows a situation corresponding to FIGS. 5 and 6 for a pinion flywheel or pinion arrangement 1 in an embodiment of the invention, also depicting the force flow 9 . The chain 2 is also placed on the seventh pinion 22 as in FIGS. 5 and 6 , which corresponds to the seventh gear of the pinion flywheel 1 .

FIG. 8 shows the same pinion arrangement 1 as in FIG. 7 , with the difference that the chain 2 is here placed on the second pinion 25 , which corresponds to the second gear of the pinion flywheel 1 . Correspondingly, FIG. 8 shows the force flow from the chain 2 via the second pinion or pinion ring 25 to the carrier pinion 21 in the second gear, from this carrier pinion to the transmission 11 and finally again in 6 to the rear wheel.

In addition to the carrier pinion 21 , it can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8 that the pinion set 18 (here milled in one piece) and a number of others (here three) are constructed as pinion rings 25 , 26 and 27 , these pinion rings are connected to the carrier pinion 21 in the connection region V of the carrier pinion 21 .

It can be clearly seen that the pinion set 18 is reduced by three larger pinions 25 to 27 and reduced in size, eg compared to the pinion flywheel of the prior art according to FIG. 5 . The shape of the pinion gear set 18 is generally frusto-conical, thus, in the illustrated embodiment, by substantially reducing the diameter and height, the volume of the pinion gear set is reduced by about two-thirds, correspondingly, in terms of manufacturability and It has a great advantage in manufacturing cost. In this way, the mass of the pinion gear set is also greatly reduced.

As an alternative to the milled pinion set 18 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , a pinned pinion set (see FIG. 6 ) can optionally be used for another (not shown) ) embodiment and connect it with the bracket pinion in FIGS. 7 and 8 .

It can be seen in combination with FIGS. 7 and 8 and 6 that in the pinned pinion set in the prior art shown in FIG. 6, the problem of long tolerance chains due to the countless pin planes between the pinion sets can be solved by The reduction of the pinion gear set has been greatly reduced. Particularly in pinion sets, pinion sets with substantially improved coaxiality and greater rigidity are produced in this way with reasonable manufacturing difficulty.

Especially in the case of pinned sets (see Figure 6), somewhat less in the milled sets shown in Figures 7 and 8, the tolerance chain is shortened as the pinion set is reduced, so that the entire pinion The axial tolerance situation of the flywheel 1 is likewise improved.

This is reflected in the fact that, with the aid of the invention, it is possible to reduce the differential play G between the dimensions of the locking tube 28, the transmission 11 and the carrier pinion 21 in relation to the axial tolerance chain, which differential play is in the axial direction Required for backlash-free mounting of the pinion flywheel 1 under prestress. In this way, when the flywheel is installed, the change of the front surface distance 29 of the tooth geometry caused by the axial prestress of the flywheel is also reduced, thereby improving the shifting accuracy of the flywheel. During installation, the axial differential clearance G closure.

In conjunction with FIGS. 7 and 5 , it can be seen how the force flow 9 is improved and shortened by means of the present invention compared to the prior art. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , this is reflected in the fact that, unlike the prior art shown in FIG. 5 , the three larger pinions 25 to 27 , and the largest of the carrier pinions 21 arranged radially outside The portion T is removed from the force flow of the most frequently used pinion in the middle region of the flywheel 1 . Thus, these areas, here the pinions 25 to 27 and the radially outer portion T of the carrier pinion 21, can be designed generally for their expected frequency of use in riding operations, and therefore for a much smaller continuous The load is designed and accordingly has a much lower weight.

FIG. 8 also schematically shows the envelope 30 of the tip or tip profile of the pinion flywheel 1 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 . It can be seen that the annular bulge or depression of the carrier pinion 21 causes the cross-sectional profile of the carrier pinion 21 to follow the tooth tip profile 30 nearly parallel in the connection region V (in the sense of a parallel curve), in this connection region , the carrier pinion 21 is connected with the pinion rings 25 to 27 and with the pinion set 18 . As shown, this results in a minimization of the connection paths and force flow between the pinion rings 25 to 27 or between the pinion set 18 and the carrier pinion 21 and correspondingly in the material usage and weight of the pinion flywheel minimize.

FIG. 9 schematically shows a graphic overlay of the carrier pinion 21 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 with the prior art flywheel set shown in FIG. 6 . Compared to the prior art milled pinion gear set 18 shown in FIG. 5 , the same principles and associated advantages shown in FIG. 9 apply.

As can be seen from FIG. 9 , thanks to the annular recess of the carrier pinion 21 , the construction space in the area A between the spokes 31 of the rear wheel 6 (see FIG. 1 ) and the carrier pinion 21 is largely freed up come out. This construction space can accordingly be used for other elements or other purposes, for example for the (not shown) right spoke flange, or for the mounting of the carrier pinion 21 on the left side of the figure compared to the carrier pinion 21 A larger pinion is also required to further increase the number of gears of the pinion flywheel 1 and increase the range of transmission ratios.

FIG. 10 schematically shows the principle realized by means of the invention of the modular structure of the pinion flywheel 1 . To this end, in the embodiment shown, a series of elements is defined for the carrier pinion 21 , the pinion rings 25 - 27 and the pinion set 18 , which may contain the corresponding elements (ie the carrier pinion 21 , the pinion rings 25 - 27 ) and pinion gear set 18) of different embodiments, materials, manufacturing methods or qualities.

Therein, within each component series, the interfaces S ₁ to S ₄ are defined in a correspondingly uniform or mechanically consistent manner. In other words, this means that within each family of elements, the corresponding element can be replaced with an element of another material, method of manufacture, or quality, while the other elements remain the same.

For example, different carrier pinions made of different materials (eg steel, aluminium or titanium) and/or different surface treatments are provided within the element series "carrier pinions". With the remaining components, namely the pinion rings 25 - 27 and the pinion set 18 remaining unchanged, in this way a plurality of pinions with different purposes and qualities can be provided with less development and manufacturing difficulty Flywheel 1.

The same applies to the other elements in this embodiment, such as each of the pinion rings 25 - 27 and the pinion set 18 . For each of these elements, the manufacturer may supply the corresponding components in other materials, other methods of manufacture, or other qualities, all other elements being kept constant.

The same is true for the way the pinion gear set 18 is constructed. This means that, for example, the element series "bracket pinion" and "pinion ring" remain unchanged, while the pinion set (see Fig. 6) is provided as a one-piece milled small gear as shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. Alternative to the gear set.

The modular system thus forms as a whole several variants of the pinion flywheel 1 , which can respectively target different price ranges or market segments and the associated purpose of use, eg for occasional amateurs in the first market sector Time use, as well as extreme use in sports in a completely different market sector can be adjusted or optimized without necessarily deviating from the basic structure of the pinion flywheel, eg according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 .

Another embodiment of the modular structure can also be described in conjunction with the schematic diagram in FIG. 10 . In this embodiment, one of the connection interfaces of the support pinion 21 , in this case the connection interface S ₃ , is provided for selecting Combination interface for accommodating the pinion ring or pinion set in a flexible manner.

This shows that the pinion gear set whose outer diameter is larger than that of the pinion gear set 18 shown in FIG. 10 can be fastened on the combination interface S ₃ of the bracket pinion gear 21 . In this process, it is not used by the interface connector held in the S ₄ in the radial direction. The ring 27 is fastened on the connecting interface S _3, and seen in Figure 10, the closer the group is connected to the pinion 18 is fastened radially on the S interface pinion Alternatively, as shown in FIG ₄ .

It can also be seen from FIG. 10 that, especially compared with the pinion flywheel with the group structure in the prior art such as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , the carrier pinion 21 is still at the connection interface S through the connection with the pinion group 18 . ₄ areas are more obviously supported or reinforced. This improves the resistance of the carrier pinion 21 to failures, particularly due to warping or bending under high drive loads. Correspondingly, the size of the carrier pinion 21 can be reduced, which is also advantageous in realizing the desired small-weight pinion flywheel.

_{The support radii R 1} and R ₂ depicted in FIG. 10 will be explained below in the description of FIG. 15 .

11 and 12 show an axial cross-sectional view ( FIG. 11 ) and an exploded view ( FIG. 12 ) of an example of a pinion arrangement in an embodiment of the present invention. By pinion arrangement is meant a pinion arrangement having an integral pinion set 18 and pinion rings 25 , 26 which are pinned together with the carrier pinion 21 .

In the illustrated embodiment of the pinion arrangement or the modular system, for all four element series, namely for the element series "carrier pinion 21", the two element series "pinion ring 25" and The "pinion ring 26" and the element series "pinion set 18" are defined in the form of a plurality of pins 20 connecting interfaces S ₁ , S ₂ and S ₄ , which are respectively distributed along an imaginary gear pitch circle.

As can be seen in particular from Figure 12, for each of the aforementioned series of elements, the corresponding element may be replaced with a corresponding element of another material or quality, while the remaining elements remain the same or require no major adjustments. For example, a pinned pinion set (see Figure 6) could also be provided as an alternative to the pinion set 18, here milled from a piece of steel, in order to provide in this way a pinion flywheel for another price range or market segment . The same applies to the other components, namely the pinion rings 25 and 26 and the carrier pinion 21 .

It can also be seen from FIG. 12 that the pinion rings 25 and 26 have the smallest height in the radial direction, which is achieved in particular by the recess of the carrier pinion 21 . This further reduces the weight of the pinion flywheel.

Another characteristic of the carrier pinion 21 in this embodiment is the design of the connecting arms 32 and 33 , which here connect the connecting interfaces S ₁ and S ₂ with the toothed region 34 of the carrier pinion 21 . As it can be seen, with the toothing region disposed closer to the connecting arm 34 between the connection S on the outer interface of the substantially non-axial component ₁₃₂ extends radially in the radial direction and the toothed portion 34 and the region arranged radially closer to the connecting arm 33 is connected between _the interface S in addition to the radially extending component is still having an upward extending circumferential component, in particular having a component extending in the axial direction. The latter makes the carrier pinion 21 more resistant to undesired bending or bending in the region of the _{connecting interfaces S 1} and S _{2 .}

13 to 19 show the carrier pinion 21 of another embodiment of the pinion arrangement. This differs from the embodiment of the carrier pinion 21 in FIG. 12 in particular in the embodiment of the radially inner carrier arms 35 , which, first of all, here do not extend curved as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 , but Extend in a straight line. Furthermore, the number of these carrier arms 35 connecting the intermediate ring 36 of the carrier pinion 21 with the hub region 37 of the carrier pinion 21 is reduced by half with respect to the embodiment shown in FIG. In the embodiment shown there are still some support arms which extend obliquely forward from the radially inner side towards the radially outer side, viewed in the direction of rotation D.

Thus, on the one hand, the weight is reduced relative to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 . On the other hand, in the carrier pinion 21 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 , the still forwardly inclined course of the carrier arm 35 is such that the carrier pinion 21 is also applied in the rotational direction D by a chain (not shown here). The torque is reinforced by generating a pressure F in the support arm 35 by its forward inclination.

In the carrier arm 35 , the circumferential component of this pressure F in the circumferential or rotational direction D transmits the drive torque from the chain via the toothing region 34 and the connecting arms 32 , 33 and via the intermediate ring 36 to the hub region 37 , while The radial component of this pressure F in the radial direction R presses the intermediate ring 36 uniformly radially outward relative to the hub region 37 . This in turn creates a surrounding tensioning force Z in the intermediate ring 36 , which stabilizes the carrier pinion 21 and counteracts the lateral buckling of the carrier pinion 21 , which occurs in particular when the chain is deflected. Caused by the axial force acting on the tooth region 34 .

_{It can also be seen from FIG. 13 that the connection interfaces S 1} and S ₂ for connecting the carrier pinion 21 and the pinion rings 25 , 26 together as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , and the connection interfaces S 1 and S 2 shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 _{A connecting interface S 4} for connecting the carrier pinion 21 and the pinion gear set 18 together is shown.

_{The regions B 1} , B ₂ , B ₃ and B ₄ of the carrier pinion 21 and the gear pitch circle TK will be explained below in the description with respect to FIG. 15 .

FIG. 14 shows the carrier pinion from FIG. 13 again in an oblique view from the outside. The annular arching of the carrier pinion 21 can be seen again, especially as shown in Figs. 8 and FIG. 10 ) following the tooth tip profile 30 approximately parallel, in this connecting region the carrier pinion 21 is provided for connecting with the pinion rings 25 to 27 and with the small gears _{via the connecting interfaces S 1} , S ₂ and S _{4 .} Gear set 18 (see Figure 12) is connected.

FIG. 15 shows a partial view of the carrier pinion 21 of FIGS. 13 and 14 . First of all, the connection area V (see FIGS. 7 , 8 and 10 ) can be seen again, in which the connections for the connection with the pinion rings 25 to 27 and with the pinion set 18 (see FIG. 12 ) are arranged At the interfaces S ₁ , S ₂ and S ₄ , the structure of the carrier pinion 21 can also be seen, including the radially inner carrier arm 35 , the intermediate ring 36 , the radially outer connecting arms 32 and 33 and the toothed region 34 .

Unlike the pinion flywheels with pinion sets disclosed in the prior art, the carrier pinion 21 according to the embodiment in FIGS. 7 to 19 is no longer at a relatively large support radius R ₁ (see FIGS. 5 and 10 ). ) is supported in particular by the lateral buckling of the pinion set which is very large in the prior art against the carrier pinion 21, which is hooked in particular by the chain from the pinion set on the rear wheel It is caused by the force along the axial direction of the rear axle that is generated when the gear shifts towards the front sprocket on the central axle.

This shows that the carrier pinion 21 according to the embodiment in FIGS. 7 to 19 , in particular the carrier in the region of the connecting arms 32 and 33 , compared to the known carrier pinion 21 in eg FIGS. 5 and 6 . In the radially outer region of the pinion 21, a more rigid construction solution must be adopted.

For this purpose, the regions B ₁ , B ₂ , B ₃ and B _{4 of the} carrier pinion 21 must be constructed in a special way, as will be explained below, so that the carrier pinion 21 obtains the greatest possible maximum resistance, in particular against lateral buckling For stiffness, this carrier pinion is axially offset along the rear axle in these areas, respectively, to obtain the annular arch visible in FIGS. 7 to 12 .

Therefore, the regions B ₁ to B _{4 of} the carrier pinion 21 do not extend exactly along the circumferential gear pitch circle (see circumferential gear pitch circle TK in FIGS. 13 and 15 ) of the carrier pinion 21 , which is in the These regions are respectively offset in the axial direction. Alternatively, the flange or the offset in the axial direction of the rear axle in each case has an angled course in the circumferential direction. In such a manner that the arm portions 32, 33 and 35 in the direction of easing the bending at the ₁ to B ₄ are respectively formed in areas B, and the corresponding radially bent towards greater regional distribution.

Furthermore, the flanging or the corresponding bending _{is relieved here, at least in the regions B 1} and B ₂ , in that the flanking is as flat as possible in the corresponding bending region B ₁ or B _{2 , or it is} Have different flange angles in different areas. As can be seen from FIG. 15 , the bend on the right side in the figure _{has a relatively steep angle α, for example, about 30° in both the bending area B 1} and the bending area B ₂ , while the corresponding bend on the left side in the figure has a relatively gentle angle α. For example an angle β of about 45°. The steeper one of these two angles, which is 30° in the present embodiment, may also be 0° if the carrier pinion 21 is made, for example, by cutting. In any case, to further enhance the pinion holder in the respective bending region B different from the application ₁ to the angle flange flexural rigidity B ₄ are as described above by 21.

Further, the arm 32, 33 is provided in the region of the molding area B of the gear pitch circle of TK _1, these arm portions extending in a plane Bishi where different axial rear axle, the stent further pinion 21 maximizes stiffness against undesired lateral buckling.

The latter can be seen in particular from FIG. 16 . FIG. 16 shows a section through the carrier pinion 21 in the embodiment according to FIGS. 12 to 15 , wherein the course X-X of the section is shown in FIG. 17 with a dashed line.

FIG. 16 shows the course of the arms 32 and 33 , which are cut at different radial heights by the section XX. As can be seen from the cut plane in FIG. 16 , the arms 32 and 33 originating from the same axial position with respect to the rear axle HA _{in the region B 2 (see FIG. 15 ) are in a further outward radial course , before it occupies the same position in the axial direction HA of the rear axle (see cut surfaces 32 S1} and 33 _S1 in FIG. 16 ), before it occupies the same position in the axial direction HA of the rear axle just before entering the transition zone of the tooth region 34 , firstly using different Axial orientation (see the different rear axle axial positions of the _{cutting surfaces 32 S2} and 33 _S2 or the cutting surfaces 32 _S3 and 33 _{S3 along the rear axle axis HA).}

Furthermore, the in-plane moment of inertia of the arm 32 in this radial section of the arm 32 is further increased by locally twisting the arm 32 visible in FIG. 16 in conjunction with the cut surface 32 _{S2, thereby further increasing the carrier pinion} 21 for flexural and flexural strength.

FIG. 18 shows the carrier pinion 21 shown in FIGS. 13 to 17 , and the two pinion rings 25 , 26 fastened to the carrier pinion 21 by means of pins or riveting 20 . 18 also shows the load shares in the bicycle chain under the driving force F _C 2.

Figure 18 only shows the rear half of the chain link in the figure, so only the inner or left chain link and the rivets of the chain are shown, and the front chain link in the figure, that is, the outer or right chain link, is omitted so as to The meshing of the chain with the teeth 34 of the carrier pinion 21 and with the next smaller pinion ie the pinion ring 25 is shown. Among them, the chain outer link plate K _AL is shown with a solid line, and the chain inner link plate K _IL is shown with a dotted line.

Figure 18 shows the transition of the chain from the carrier pinion 21 to the next smaller pinion ring 25 when shifting out, ie when shifting from the slowest gear of the pinion flywheel to the next faster gear Last moment. The carrier pinion 21 has special recesses or shifting aids for this outward shifting process, so-called outward shifting fork pockets 38 .

In particular, as can be seen from the partially enlarged view of the carrier pinion 21 in FIG. 19 , the outward shift fork shaft shift block groove 38 includes specially shaped recessed notches 40 and 41 , which are arranged in the carrier pinion 21 in the in the outer surface in the area of the teeth 34 . Wherein, the notch 40 is used for accommodating the left chain outer link plate in the outer shift. In FIG. 18 it is the rear chain outer link plate K _A3 in the figure. The notch 41 in Figure 19 is used to accommodate or allow the passage of the left chain inner link plate in the outboard shift. In FIG. 18 it is the rear chain inner link plate K _I2 in the figure.

The carrier pinion 21 has four evenly distributed and substantially identical outward shift fork shift grooves 38 on its periphery. The carrier pinion 21 also has four inward shift fork pocket grooves 39 equally evenly distributed along the circumference of the pinion, which constitute the (not shown) shown) shift aid for inward shifting.

Figure 18 shows how the chain achieves what is known in the industry as a "tangential condition" during an out-shifting gear shift, as the chain moves from the outgoing pinion (here The toothing of the larger pinion 21 ) turns into meshing with the toothing of the pinion just entered (here the next smaller pinion 25 ) along a straight tangent to the smaller pinion 25 . The observance of this tangential condition is desirable and highly advantageous since it enables substantially noise-free and low-wear shifting, in particular by minimizing or eliminating so-called shift shocks.

If the chain was not previously stretched and tensioned tangentially as in Figure 18, but moved in a slack arc to the pinion just entered (here the next smaller pinion 25), thus, once The chain is disengaged from the teeth of the larger pinion, and the slack chain arc will be jerked and suddenly tensioned, so that at the last time the chain leaves the pinion that is about to leave (here the larger pinion 21) Undesirable shift shocks can occur in an instant.

FIG. 18 shows the moment when the chain is disengaged from the tooth portion of the pinion 21 to be disengaged. In this moment, the bicycle chain 2 is in the chain force or the driving force F before the bottom edge of the left outer link plates of the load strand under tensile stress _C induced K _VU just still with the pinion gear to leave the so-called outer 21 _{The load flanks FL of the} link spacer teeth or output teeth 43 are in contact (see Fig. 19).

The outer link plate spacer teeth or output teeth 43 are narrowed on the back (inside) side of the figure, that is to say, they have flats or so-called spacer notches there, which allow the left-hand chain outer chain in this area The plate K _A1 and the chain 2 are displaced to the outside or to the right by a sufficient degree (ie out of the drawing plane of FIG. 18 ) relative to the outgoing pinion 21 during the outward shifting.

The chain 2 needs to make this lateral displacement in the area of the left chain outer link plate K _A1 or in the area of the output tooth 43 so that, during the outward shifting, the chain which is initially still moving on the outgoing pinion 21 2 can be shifted to the right, that is to say in the outer direction, enough that the chain 2 passes on the outer side through the next inner chain plate row 44 in the direction of rotation D, thereby transitioning to the smaller pinion 25 . Otherwise, the chain may ride on the teeth of the larger pinion 21, or the teeth of the larger pinion 21 may undesirably continue to mesh with the gap between the chain plates of the chain 2,

The rear side chain is not transferred to the smaller pinion 25 at the position preset by the outer shift fork pocket 38 .

Opposite to Figure 18, at a moment before the pinion flywheel 1 rotates or shifts, the left chain outer link plate K _{A1 is} still on the left or inside, that is, at the outer link plate spacing teeth or output teeth 43 in the figure. Behind, and in the region where it is arranged in the spaced recesses, slides from the radially inner side towards the radially outer side in the direction of the tooth tips of the output teeth 43 .

At this moment, the frictional contact between the left chain outer chain plate K _A1 and the back side of the output tooth 43, and/or the front bottom edge K _{VU of the left chain inner chain plate K I2} and the load tooth surface _{FL of the} output tooth 43 ( 19), also frictional contact forms the only and final contact between the chain 2 and the outgoing pinion 21.

Contrary to FIG. 18 , at an instant after the pinion flywheel 1 rotates in the driving rotational direction D, _{the contact between the inner side of the left chain outer link plate K A1} and the back side of the output tooth 43 is terminated, so that the load strands of the chain 2 are terminated. The larger pinion 21 is suddenly and completely removed. During this process, the load strand of the chain jumps slightly laterally to the outside, that is to say to the right, and from there it goes in a straight line from the engagement with the teeth of the front chainring into the Meshing of the teeth of the pinion gear 25 that has just entered.

However, when leaving the larger pinion 21 at the end, it may cause the front bottom edge K _{VU of the left chain inner chain plate K I2} and/or the lower waist edge K _{TU of the} left chain outer chain plate K _A1 to be at the pinion 21 that is about to leave. _{Lateral sliding or scraping occurs on the load tooth surface FL} (see FIG. 19 ) of the output teeth 43 of the output teeth 43 . This may cause tremendous load on the load flank F _L as necessary at the time of a shift in the load is large and the larger the chain force F _C.

In this regard, the inventors have found that the load strands of the chain and the front bottom edge K _{VU of the left chain inner link plate K I2} and/or the lower waist edge K _{TU of the} left chain outer link plate K _A1 are at the load tooth of the output tooth 43 . the final output will bounce or lateral sliding tooth flank load F _L 43 cause great wear on the surface of the load or F _L. This solution is even more disadvantageous, since the output teeth 43 also have back-side spaced notches, which further reduce the stability of the output teeth 43 and the effective width of _{their load flanks FL.} The inventor has even observed that in pinion flywheels according to the prior art, when shifting out, the output teeth 43 are bent due to this particular situation.

For this reason, the output tooth 43 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 to 19 has a circumferential edge in the region of _{its load flank FL, relative to the standard load flank visible on the other teeth of the pinion 21 .} Beveled shark tooth shape set back upwards. This shape _{of the load flank FL} of the output tooth 43 can be seen particularly clearly from the output tooth 43 in FIGS. With this shape of the load tooth surface _FL of the output tooth 43 , the front bottom edge K _{VU of the} left chain inner link plate K _I2 and/or the lower waist edge K _{TU of the} left chain outer link plate K _A1 are connected to the load tooth of the output tooth 43 . Contact between faces _FL and associated loads or associated wear is minimized.

In addition to the output tooth 43 of the largest pinion 21, this beveled shark tooth shape can also be provided in several or all but the smallest pinion, since there is no outward direction from this smallest pinion Shift direction.

The beveled shark tooth shape of the output teeth 43 improves shifting accuracy, reduces shifting noise, reduces wear on the pinion 1 and the chain 2 over the entire service life of the pinion 1, thereby extending the drive train as a whole longevity and enhanced reliability.

1: Pinion flywheel 2: Chain 3: Outer shift mechanism 4: Gear plate 5: Crank mechanism 6: Rear wheel 7: Anti-torsion connection of the transmission 8: Translational fixation of the transmission 9: From the chain through the pinion flywheel Force flow or torque flow to rear wheel/transmission path 10: Force transmission interface between different elements of pinion flywheel/action of chain force 11: Transmission 12: Bearing structure 13: Plug-in pinion 14: Pinion star Shaped wheel 15: Pinion ring 16: Lock ring 17: Internal thread 18: Pinion set 19: Pinion set 20: Pin 21: Bracket pinion 22: Pinion 23: Interface 24: Area through which the force flows 25: Pinion / Pinion Ring 26: Pinion Ring 27: Pinion Ring 28: Lock Tube 29: Front Surface Distance 30: Tooth Tip Profile 31: Spoke 32: Link Arm 32 _S1 : Cut Surface 32 _S2 : Cut Surface 32 _S3 : Cutting surface 33: Connecting arm 33 _S1 : Cutting surface 33 _S2 : Cutting surface 33 _S3 : Cutting surface 34: Teeth area 35: Bracket arm 36: Intermediate ring 37: Hub area 38: Outward shift fork shaft shift block groove 39: Inward shift fork shaft shift block groove 40: Notch 41: Notch 43: Outer chain plate spacer teeth or output teeth 44: Inner chain plate row push teeth B ₁ : Area of bracket pinion B ₂ : Bracket Area B of the pinion ₃ : Area of the carrier pinion B ₄ : Area of the carrier pinion D: Direction of rotation F: Pressure F _C : Chain force/drive force _FL : Load tooth surface G: Differential clearance HA: Rear axle K _AL : Chain outer chain plate K _A1 : Chain outer chain plate K _A3 : Chain outer chain plate K _IL : Chain inner chain plate K _I2 : Chain inner chain plate K _VU : Front bottom edge of outer chain plate K _TU : Chain outer plate Chain plate lower waist edge R ₁ : Support radius R ₂ : Support radius S ₁ : Interface S ₂ : Interface S ₃ : Interface S ₄ : Interface T: The largest part of the bracket pinion TK: Gear pitch circle V: Connection area Z: Zhang pull

Embodiments of the present invention are exemplarily described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. in: Figure 1: A mountain bike with a single-speed drivetrain, i.e. a single chainring and no front chain switch derailleur; Figures 2-4: schematic cross-sectional views showing prior art pinion arrangements with pinion spiders and plug pinions, respectively; Figure 5: A schematic cross-sectional view of a prior art pinion arrangement with an integral pinion set; Figure 6: Schematic cross-sectional view of a prior art pinion arrangement with a pinned pinion set; FIGS. 7-8 : illustrate the pinion configuration in the embodiment of the invention in schematic cross-sectional views, respectively; Figure 9: Schematic overlay of the prior art pinion configuration according to Figure 6 and the carrier pinion of the embodiment in Figures 7 and 8; Figure 10: View of the embodiment in Figures 7 and 8 used to illustrate the modular structure in a schematic cross-sectional view; 11 : Schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a pinion arrangement with an integral pinion set and pinned pinion ring; Figure 12: Exploded view of the embodiment in Figure 11; Figure 13: View from the left or outside of the carrier pinion of another embodiment; Figure 14: Oblique view of the carrier pinion of Figure 13 from the left or outside; Figure 15: A partial view of the carrier pinion of Figures 13 and 14; Figure 16: Sectional view of the carrier pinion of Figures 13 to 15; Figure 17 is a cross-section of the carrier pinion in Figure 16; Figure 18: The direction of the chain load strands when shifting out from the carrier pinion to the next smaller pinion; and Figure 19: Outward shift yoke paddle groove with carrier pinion corresponding to tooth geometry.

18: pinion gear set

20: Pins

21: Bracket pinion

25: Pinion/pinion ring

26: pinion ring

32: connecting arm

33: connecting arm

34: Teeth area

S ₁ : Interface

S ₂ : Interface

S ₄ : Interface

Claims (7)

A bicycle rear wheel pinion arrangement comprising a carrier pinion and a self-supporting pinion set connected to the carrier pinion on the outside within the connection region of the carrier pinion, It is characterized in that, Also included are a plurality of other pinions constructed as pinion rings, wherein the pinion rings are arranged on the carrier pinion in the connection region and are connected to the carrier pinion in the connection region. The bicycle rear wheel pinion arrangement as described in claim 1, in, At least one of the pinion rings is connected with the carrier pinion with a plurality of connecting elements. A bicycle rear wheel pinion arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in, At least one of the pinion rings is connected in material engagement with the carrier pinion. A bicycle rear wheel pinion arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in, The carrier pinion gear train is constructed concave so that in the connection area, the cross-sectional profile of the carrier pinion follows the tooth tip profile of the pinion arrangement approximately parallel. A bicycle rear wheel pinion arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, in, On one or more pinions, the load flanks of at least one outer link plate spacer tooth or output tooth have a beveled shark tooth shape that is set back in the circumferential direction to reduce wear when shifting outwards. A modular system for producing a bicycle rear wheel pinion configuration as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, It is characterized in that, The modular system comprises at least one element series for at least one element of the element carrier pinion, the pinion set and the pinion ring, wherein within each element series a connection interface is defined in a correspondingly uniform manner, So that the at least one element can be replaced with another element in the same series of elements of a different material or of a different quality of manufacture while retaining the remaining elements. A modular system as claimed in claim 6, in, At least one connection interface of the carrier pinion is constructed as a combined interface for selectively accommodating a pinion ring or a pinion set.

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